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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — an illness
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — electricity
  7. snap — to click
  8. hand — help
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. charge — a price
  15. dip — to sink
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — not warm
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. charge — in control
  23. net — in sport
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com